Maple Leafs, Lightning set for Stanley Cup Playoffs rematch

For a second year running, the Toronto Maple Leafs will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Leafs, without a playoff-series win since 2004, will hope to avenge the Game 7 loss to Tampa in last year's postseason matchup.

Video Transcript

- The worst kept secret in the history of ever has now been confirmed. The Leafs and Lightning are gonna face each other in the first round-- again, something we all knew since November. But now that is confirmed, I wanted to see how people are thinking and feeling about it-- in particular, Leafs fans, 'cause Tampa Bay fans seem to be pretty nonchalant about it.

Again, Tampa Bay is a team that's won a whole bunch of stuff, so they aren't really gonna think too much about it anyway. Now, as far as Leafs fans go, I think it's interesting that the feeling is similar, where it's mainly apathy. It's like, ah, whatever.

And I don't know if it's because we knew we were gonna face Tampa the entire time because of the overall team "success," in air quotes, when it comes to the playoffs and how they perform, or maybe it can be a combination of the two. And I do think you do have Leafs fans who are apprehensive and really want them to win a round. And at the same time, I think you have a majority of Leafs fans who are just waiting for them to do it, just waiting for it to happen, and I think I'm in that camp as well.

And for the last couple of years, we spent long stretches of a regular season [? stealing-- ?] OK, are they gonna win a round? Are they gonna win a round? We get to the playoffs, and then they don't, and we spend the entire offseason complaining about it or being upset about it, and then we start the year afterwards, and the same thing happens.

So I agree with Leafs fans. You gotta have the perspective of just do it. Just do it. Dubas has done everything that he can. The same players have been around for most of, if not the majority of the collapses in the Matthews era. Just do it.

Yes, it's another 100-point season. I want to say it's the seventh 100-point season in franchise history. That's great. Just do it. Just go into the playoffs. You know Tampa. You're gonna face them again before the regular season ends. Just do it. Just win.

I don't know. Maybe that level of apathy will be enough to get them over the hump, but it's interesting. The excitement is there for sure, but at the same time, we're all just waiting for them to finally win a round here.